Redbud Valley Nature Preserve

I’ve been here about a dozen times and I’ve never experienced any real «busy» time. Sometimes there will be loud kids, but let them pass (or pass them if they’re slow). I haven’t seen «park rangers» either, but I do know there are a couple rules that people sometimes ignore or fail to note:
1) You can’t bring your pet. This isn’t a dog-​walking trail. (And I love dogs).
2) You shouldn’t picnic. Though, a light snack and drink are fine I’m sure.
3) Don’t litter. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but people seem to forget.
4) Be considerate of others on the trail and try to stick to the trail.
Because it is a nature preserve, there’s a lot of stuff they don’t want you disrupting. There’s also some dangerous things, for example: massive spiders (I’d say tarantulas, but I didn’t get close enough to really see). That’s a good reason to stay on trail. So would snakes, scorpions, and other things that are generally going to avoid areas well-​traveled by humans.
It can be an easy enough hike or you can modify and take a longer route to take more time. Either way, you’ll get to see all of the natural biomes occurring within the state of Oklahoma… and that’s pretty neat and educational. It’s also a nice place to relax and take in nature or to take some photos. Early mornings are best and just remember to leave things better than when you came.

This is the first time I have been here since they started locking the gate, I guess it gets more use than it used to. Best to go during the week, it you want to see wildlife and birds. Hilly terrain and heavily treed. Joint project with the City of Tulsa, Oxley Nature Center, and The Nature Conservancy.

Pros: Short easy hike that’s about 20 minutes from Tulsa. Easy enough for the kids. Plenty of parking and relatively simple to find.
Cons: During the weekend, it’s crowded, noisy, and full of screaming kids. We got a bit lost and ended off the trail. Got fussed at by a park ranger because she thought we purposely went off trail to scramble on rocks. When she realized we were just hopeless hikers who couldn’t follow a mark path, she apologized. Indicating that she’d go back and mark them more clearly.